"Personalized" December 30, 2018

Overview

A Gift Planned, Prepared, Purchased—and Personalized

The gift of salvation was planned before creation, prepared through generations of prophecy and promise to Israel, and purchased not with silver or gold but with the precious blood and innocent suffering and death of Jesus Christ 1 Peter 1:18-19. The teachings, healings, and miracles of Jesus were vital to His mission, but the gift itself is His death and resurrection—forgiveness of sins and freedom from sin, death, and the power of the devil. When Jesus said from the cross, "It is finished," He meant it. He did not say, "My part is finished; the rest is up to you."

You Were Once—But Now You Are New

Paul writes in Titus 3:3-7 that "we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures." Notice those two words: were once. Many Christians cling to old sins, lamenting the past rather than receiving the forgiveness already promised. To lament past sin is not the same as confessing it and receiving absolution. When you look in the mirror, do not see a person too far gone for grace; remember instead that a gift of redemption has already been purchased for the very specific need of salvation that you have. You were once in a desperate situation, but in Christ you have been made new.

Personalized Through Baptism—No Strings Attached

Salvation is a gift, full stop. There is no special prayer to unlock it, no quota of good works to qualify for it. To add stipulations is to attach strings to a gift God gives freely. "He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" Titus 3:5. In baptism, God personalizes this gift to you by name. He declares His verdict—not guilty—and says, "You are mine." As Paul writes in Romans 6:3-11, all who are baptized into Christ Jesus are baptized into His death, buried with Him, and raised to walk in newness of life. Every aspect of your salvation depends on God's action, not yours.

Assurance Heaped Upon Assurance

God knows we struggle to believe a gift this good comes without a catch, so He gives us faith itself, and then surrounds us with means to receive His promise again and again. The proclaimed Word, the absolution spoken after confession, the body and blood of Christ in the Supper—each is God's continuing assurance that this gift is truly for you. From baptism on, the Holy Spirit works in us day after day so that we can be more certain than the day before that we are forgiven. The only fitting response to a gift so carefully planned, prepared, purchased, and personalized is: thank you, Jesus, and amen.

Transcript

So lately, we have been talking about this gift that was given to us. 0s

Obviously, there's no huge surprise as to what this gift is. 6s

If you recall a couple of weeks ago, we heard about how this gift was planned out from 11s

before all time. 16s

This gift was decided upon before creation came into being. 18s

And then last week, we recounted some of the preparations that were made by Yahweh 24s

to receive the gift. 29s

The Israelite people were prepared for over 3000 years to receive the gift. 32s

There were prophecies, told and signs, and foreshadowing of the gift that was to come. 37s

And then at the exact moment in time that had been prepared for Jesus Christ to enter into 45s

creation, he was born. 53s

He was born. 57s

And on Christmas Eve, we heard how Jesus was born as a great gift for this world. 57s

But the gift was not purchased until his death because truly, though the teachings 64s

and the healings and the miracles were glorious and magnificent and a very vital part 72s

of Jesus' mission here on earth, the gift was his death and resurrection. 80s

The gift is salvation for you and for I. 90s

The gift is the forgiveness of our sins and it was purchased by Christ with his life. 94s

In fact, the only way this gift could be purchased was by Jesus giving his life an exchange 101s

for hours. 110s

The gift was not an easy purchase either. 112s

It came at great cost. 115s

In the confession that's written that we believe Jesus Christ has freed us from sin, death, 118s

and the power of the devil not with silver or gold as Saint Peter writes. 123s

But with his precious blood and his innocent suffering and death, all this he has done 130s

that we may be his own. 137s

Now that is a gift. 141s

That's a gift. 144s

When you're getting a gift, what do you do? 147s

What do you do? 150s

There are some steps that you take anytime you get a gift, right? 150s

You think about the person that you're shopping for. 154s

You make a plan. 157s

You consider his or her likes and dislikes. 159s

Maybe the size is that he or she wears favorite colors. 163s

You plan out your purchase. 167s

Then you go to the store. 170s

You go to purchase it. 172s

You make that purchase. 174s

You get the gift. 176s

You take it back home. 177s

You wrap the gift all up and then what? 178s

Here you have a gift that has been planned, prepared, and purchased. 183s

There's one thing left to do. 189s

You fill out the name tag, right? 193s

Two Susieq with love from me. 196s

You have to personalize it. 200s

You have to let the person know that you're giving them a gift. 202s

Let the recipient know that you've picked out and purchased a gift just for him or her. 206s

That's no different with the gift that God has given to us. 214s

The gift of redemption has been personalized for each of us. 218s

We're going to work off of two meanings, two definitions of personalizing with this 224s

gift. 230s

One definition is to make this gift personal to apply it to a particular person. 230s

We're going to get to that in just a moment. 237s

The second definition of personalizing is to design or purchase something to meet someone's 240s

specific individual requirements. 248s

And the second definition is what we're going to start with as we look at our text beginning 252s

in chapter three, verse three. 258s

For we ourselves, we're once foolish, disobedient, let us stray, slaves to various passions 261s

and pleasures passing our days in malice and envy despicable, hating one another. 268s

Now many of you were raised in the faith and you don't necessarily have one of those defining 276s

moments of coming to faith where you have this very delineated moment in time that you 281s

can say, that's when I came to faith. 287s

But there are plenty of people who come to faith as adults and they can see that line. 290s

And they know their life before faith and after faith. 296s

And they can look back on their lives on the life that they lived before coming to Christ. 302s

And they can see the person they used to be and how foolish and distorted life was before 308s

they became of a lever. 316s

But regardless of when you came to faith, this verse, verse three really sums up so nicely 318s

and so neatly how desperate we are in need of grace and how desperate we are in need of saving. 326s

Please take note of two very, very important words here though. 337s

Were once, were once. 342s

So many of us like to hold on to those times when we were once foolish or disobedient. 348s

How many of us cling to the moments when we've been slaves to our own passion or pleasure? 359s

Do you lament over the sins that you've committed and lamenting over past sins is very different than acknowledging 367s

and confessing your sin? 376s

Do you confess your sin and leave it at the confession refusing to receive the forgiveness that's promised to you? 381s

Do you look at yourself in the mirror with disgust because you are a person in need of saving? 391s

Or do you look in the mirror and remind yourself that a gift has been purchased for you, 401s

a gift of redemption designed to meet the very specific need of salvation that you have. 409s

Read in that text, those two words were once. 420s

Know that those words apply to you, you were once in a desperate situation but now, now you've been given a gift that allows you to leave your former self behind 426s

because in this gift from God, you have been made new. 441s

I love going on the social media feeds, the Twitter feeds of new believers and in a description of themselves, 447s

I see oftentimes former adulterer, former drug addict, former alcoholic. 454s

They're very clear to point out it is no longer who they are. It was who they were. 466s

They were once but now they are new creation. You were once foolish, disobeyed, 472s

let us stray slaves to various passions and pleasures passing our days in malice and envy despicable, hating one another. 479s

Verse four, but when the goodness and loving kindness of God are Savior appeared, 487s

He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness that we had done, 495s

but according to His mercy, God knew from before creation that we would need a gift like no other gift from him. 501s

And Jesus before creation, the second person of the Triune God, Jesus knew that He would be sent to save us. 513s

And He was. And He did. As Luther wrote in a Christmas Day sermon, 523s

He wrote, how could God have shown His goodness in a more sublime manner than by humbling Himself 531s

to partake of flesh and blood. Out of absolute love for us Christ came into the world at just the right time 537s

for humanity to receive His mercy because all of creation needed His mercy needed the gift of salvation 547s

from him. And it was a personalized arrival and a gift for all. And He saved us, 559s

not because any works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy, 568s

through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit. No, that's the honest. 573s

This is kind of hard for us to get. Most Christian denominations will tell you that salvation is 580s

a gift. It is. That is absolutely true. Salvation is a gift, but some Christian faiths will add 588s

to the stipulations to this gift. I've heard it off and where they'll tell you that there's this gift 597s

that God has waiting for you and all you have to do is say a special prayer before you can open it 603s

or all you have to do are enough good works before you can open it. And with those extra requirements, 612s

this beautiful gift becomes a gift with stringed attached. There's a catch. 621s

Can you imagine giving a gift with stringed attached? How offended would you be if you received a 629s

gift? And when you open the card, you read, picked it out just for you by the way you owe me 50 bucks. 638s

I imagine a lot of the excitement, a lot of the meaning behind that gift would be drained out of the moment. 648s

God does not present a gift to you, dangle a gift in front of you and then tell you that you 658s

have to go the final steps to open it. When Jesus said upon the cross, it is finished. 665s

It was finished. He meant it. He didn't say, my part is finished. Now the rest is up to you. 677s

You take it from here. And here's where we get to that first part of the definition of personalized 688s

that I talked about. God personalized this gift for you through baptism. In baptism, we are told 695s

by God what His verdict is for you. And that is not guilty. God says, you are mine. He said, 704s

you are mine in your baptism and He gives you all that the gift of redemption entailed for 716s

given this deliverance, eternal and everlasting salvation. And what do we do? We think there's a catch. 723s

We think there's a catch to that. Surely I have to do something, right? Even though we 735s

would never dream of giving someone a gift with strings attached, a gift with a catch. We can't 743s

imagine that a gift so great as becoming a new creation, having a verdict of not guilty 751s

placed upon your forehead, upon your head through the waters of baptism will a gift like that. 760s

Surely it would come at a price, right? But listen to the words of Paul as he was inspired 767s

to write by the Holy Spirit. He saved us. He saved us, not because of any works of righteousness 775s

that we had done, but according to His mercy through the water of rebirth and renewal by the Holy 784s

Spirit every single aspect of our salvation depends on God's action. None of it depends on what 792s

we do. The good works are not prepaments or repaments for His salvation. God's love and grace 803s

that He extends to us are absolutely keeping in line with His merciful nature. 814s

Baptism is new life, it's spiritual cleansing, and God provide this baptism to us as a means for us 822s

to receive His grace. In baptism God links our lives to the life of Jesus Christ. 831s

In Romans, Paul wrote all of us who are baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death. 843s

Therefore we have been buried with Him by baptism into death so that just as Christ was raised 850s

from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Our old self 856s

was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be destroyed and we might no longer be enslaved 864s

to sin. The death He died, He died to sin once for all, but the life He lives, He lives to God. 870s

So you also must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus being linked 880s

to the death and the resurrection of Jesus put us before the Father as blameless. 891s

White as snow, we are washed through the waters of rebirth and renewal and all of this is done 898s

by God, not by you. You haven't saved yourself. You can't save yourself, but He saved you. 907s

He saved all of us, according to His mercy through the water of rebirth and renewal by the 923s

through Jesus Christ our Savior. So that having been justified by His grace, we might become 936s

airs according to the hope of eternal life. The Holy Spirit is poured out on you richly. 944s

God is so good. God is so good even in the greatest gift ever 954s

with redemption, salvation, forgiveness. God gives more and more. He continues to give continues to 965s

heap upon the first gift, more and more. God personalized this gift for you in your baptism. 976s

When your pastor put water on your face and said, John, Kathy, Sue, Joe, whatever your name is, 985s

when your pastor put that water on your forehead and said, I baptize you in the name of the Father 996s

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, that was the promise. The gift just for you, 1005s

no strings attached and it gets even better. I know how can it get better. It does. 1017s

It does because God knew us so well. He knows that we may have some difficulty 1025s

accepting that there's no catch to this marvelous gift. So He takes care of that too 1030s

by giving us faith, by giving us belief, by giving us the ability to believe. God absolutely 1038s

wants you to believe in the gift that He has planned and prepared and purchased for you, but He 1047s

does not expect you to believe through your own efforts or your own strength. 1053s

Less you begin doubting this gift. The Lord has put into place many ways for you to receive 1061s

the promise over and over and over again so that you can be sure assured that this gift indeed 1067s

is for you. We're given the assurance of this promise through the proclaimed word. 1075s

We're given this promise, the assurance of this promise every time we hear an 1082s

absolution after we confess our sin. We're given the assurance of this promise when we receive 1088s

his body and blood. From baptism on, God sends his spirit to work in us day after day so that 1095s

every single day we can be more assured than the last that we are forgiven, that we do have this 1105s

gift and that this gift is for you. You would never, you would never go through the trouble of planning 1113s

and preparing and purchasing the ultimate gift for someone just to hold it over their head. Would 1126s

you? You wouldn't make the efforts of planning and preparing and purchasing what your loved one 1133s

needs most only to forget the tag, forget to personalize it. Would you? If you take such care into the 1145s

planning and the preparing and the purchasing and the personalizing of the gifts for your loved ones, 1159s

why would you expect anything less from our sovereign Lord? You have been given the beautiful 1168s

and the wonderful gift of redemption. This gift was planned for you. This gift was prepared. 1177s

You were prepared to receive this gift by the Holy Spirit. This gift was purchased for you by the 1189s

baptism. When we consider this gift and the planning and the preparation and the purchasing and the 1207s

personalizing that went into it, there is nothing that we can do or say in response other than 1217s

thank you Jesus and amen. 1227s